The Green Business Challenge 2017 kicked off with roadshows for ‘Clean energy’ and ‘Agribusiness’ at Imphal, Manipur.  The event took place on 14^th November 2017 at The Classic Hotel, Imphal.

Ms. Monika Ingudam, Program Associate, ICCo started the proceedings for the day with a welcome note. She briefly spoke about the objective of the Roadshow and highlighted the order of the day.

This was followed by a stimulating key note address by the Chief Guest, Mr. Rishi Kumar (President, All Manipur Entrepreneurs Association). Mr Kumar highlighted the scope for potential entrepreneurship in the state as a livelihood generation option in Manipur. He encouraged the entrepreneurs to work towards developing their own sustainable business.

This was followed by a presentation from the Guest of honour; Mr. Agha Khan (Program Officer,  Manipur Renewable Energy Development Agency, MANIREDA). In his presentation, he stressed upon MANIREDAs work in various states and highlighted the opportunities and application process of various schemes under solar energy.

There was a good participant turnout as 75 participants came to attend the clean energy session. During the session, some of the entrepreneurs like; Mr.Dev Kishor (MANGAAL), Mr Albert Zamlal (ZICORD) and Mr. Bidhan (ENVIROFIT) from the state shared their ideas on “Unleashing Clean Energy Opportunities for Entrepreneurship Development.”

The session was followed by an open discussion and general queries regarding participation in GBC 2017.  Mr. Jasmeet Singh, Program Manager, ICCSPL, then took the participants through the process of applying for the challenge.

In the second half of the day, the session was held on ‘Agribusiness’.  52 participants were present from different parts of the state for the session

The Chief Guest for the session,  Mr. Th Shyam Kumar (Minister of Horticulture and Soil Conservation, Government of Manipur) emphasized on the issues and challenges faced by the unemployed youth of the state. He also pointed out that more than 700000 people are registered as educated unemployed in Manipur. He believes that entrepreneurship can help to reduce rural poverty in the state. Therefore, he stressed that one needs to shift from agriculture to agribusiness as it is an essential pathway to revitalize agriculture and to make it a more attractive and profitable venture.

Mr. Joykumar Singh (Program Coordinator, Agri Clinics and Agri Business Centres Scheme, Institute of Cooperative Management, (ICM), Imphal, was present as the Guest of Honour. Mr. Singh underlined the General Challenges faced by Start-up entrepreneurs in Manipur that included raising capital, developing business ideas to logistics bottlenecks

This was followed by a short session, which included prominent names like Mr. Ragesh Keisham (Managing Director, The Sui Generis Agronomy Pvt. Ltd.), Mr. Dimberjit (Marketing Manager, Greenbiotech Ecosolutions Pvt. Ltd.) and Dr. Nara Singh, (Ex- Memberof Parliament, Lok Sabha). The panelists appreciated initiatives like Green Business Challenge 2017 and encouraged the young entrepreneurs of the state to grab the opportunity and showcase their ideas to the outside world.  The session was followed by an open discussion and general queries regarding participation in GBC 2017.  Mr. Nitin Singh, Value chain Manager, ICCSPL, then explained the challenge process to all the participants.